May 26, 2025, 3:30 PM - Visiting a couple of Nepo-babies in the US waters

We couldn’t ask for better conditions for whale watching as we left Nanaimo for our afternoon tour on May 26th. The sun was shining and the winds were calm, leading to us gliding over glassy calm waters in the search for whales. We started the journey with both of our boats heading south, through Northumberland Channel and Dodd Narrows, taking our search to the Southern Gulf Islands. These islands provide a beautiful backdrop for our whales, with the steep rocky shoreline typically covered in colourful lichen or moss. We didn’t have luck finding anything inside these islands today though, so we headed out into the open waters of the Strait of Georgia. Before making our way too far, we made a stop at Stinky Rock, where there was a bunch of pinnipeds to be seen.

Pinniped is the name for our fin-footed mammals, in this case the Harbour Seals and Steller Sea Lions! While they both seem to like spending time on these rocky outcrops, they won’t often be seen mixing in the same area. This isn't necessarily due to a inter-species feud, but rather due to the limitations of their movements on land. Sea lions can prop themselves up on their flippers and walk around making their movement on land nearly as efficient as their movements in the water, allowing them to get onto steeper areas. The Harbour Seals don’t have this ability, meaning that instead of walking on land they Galumph, or basically do the worm to move over the rocks. Since this isn’t the most efficient movement, they tend to not be able to make it up too steep of a slope and therefore are found more commonly on areas where the slope is more gentle. It was great getting to see both of them spending time on Stinky Rocks before we continued into the Strait.

From here, we went south, all the way south actually, until we crossed the border into Washington State. It was here, close to Point Roberts, that we got our first look at whales for the tour. We had found ourselves some orca! It was likely the same group as this morning, although it seemed that there might be some extra whales in the mix. After digging through our photos, both on scene and in the office afterwards, we determined that the following whales were present:

T037A3 Spinnaker ♂ (2013)

T049A1 Noah ♂ (2001)

T086A Eider ♀ (1988)
T086A4 Akia ♀ (2016)
T086A5 Siku (2024)

T086A1 Nahanni ♀ (~2001)
T086A1B Denali (2023)

T100B ♀ Freya (1997)
T100B1 Seidr (2010)
T100B3 Selkie (2024)

T101 Reef ♀ (≤1969)
T101A Rush ♂ (1993)
T101B Lagoon ♂ (1997)

T123 Sidney ♀ (~1985)
T123A Stanley ♂ (2000)
T123C Lucky ♀ (2012)
T123D Darcy ♀ (2018)

There are some very interesting whales in this group, with a few mini-family reunions happening as well. Figuring out who is related to whom with our Biggs Orca can be pretty easy, most of the time, thanks to the alpha-numeric naming system that is used. These scientific names provide information about their matriarchal lineage. The “T” indicates that the whale is part of the Transient Orca (aka Biggs) population. The following numbers were assigned when cataloguing first started, assigning numbers based on the order in which the whales were spotted. The next letter indicates the birth order, going in alphabetical order. Once those orca females start having their own offspring, their kids would be assigned a number in the order of their birth. This continues on, switching between letter and number forever. These strings will eventually start getting very complicated, so there is also the use of Nicknames. The nicknames make it easier to talk about the whales and think of them as individuals compared to the lengthy codes.

Although these codes are great now that all the whales have their assignments, when it was first starting, there were some relationships that weren’t reflected with this naming system, since both animals were alive and present during the initial assignments. One of these families is a great, and very famous, example of this: The T123s. Sidney’s mom, T046 Wake, was one of the most successful mothers in the Biggs Orca Population up until her death in 2023. With an impressive 7 living children, 13 living grandkids, and 2 living great-grandkids, she has an amazing legacy. To think that she was captured when she was young and this entire legacy could have been wiped out, is a wild thought.

There is another hidden relationship amongst these whales, since T101 Reef is T100B’s grandmother! This was another case of numbers being assigned before the relationship was known, but it’s now presumed to have these relationships based on observed socialization. The more obvious relationship listed here is between Eider and Nahanni. Although they were once in the same pod, Nahanni has since dispersed since she had her own offspring, which is typical for females when both her and her mother are still reproductive. Having too many small mouths to feed can cause issues, as well as potential power struggles amongst the group. That doesn’t stop them from meeting up every once in a while to spend time travelling together! Both of their young calves seemed to be having a great time spending time together, playfully surfacing and playing as the group continued south.

As they continued on their way, we did as well, heading towards the Southern Gulf Islands once again. Before we could make it too far, another whale popped up, surprising us. It turned out to be a humpback whale, Divot (BCX1057), who seemed to be feeding in the area! Although we didn’t get to see her tail, we IDed her based on the small dorsal fin that has a unique shape and scarring on it. Divot is another well-known whale in her own right, but with an even more famous mother. Divot was born in 2003 to arguably the most famous humpback whale in the Salish Sea: Big Momma! Big Momma is similar to Wake in the way that she has an impressive family tree. As of 2025, Big Momma has brought 8 calves back to the Salish Sea. Divot is the most prolific of Big Momma’s offspring, which makes sense given that she is also the oldest. Divot herself has brought back an impressive 5 calves with 4 grandkids as well. We didn’t have long to spend with Divot, but enjoyed our brief time spend with such an iconic whale.

After a long but beautiful return trip through the sunset, we found ourselves back at the dock. It was a wonderful day spent on the water! Please enjoy all the photos taken throughout the tour by Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Val Watson available below.

T101B Lagoon. Photo by Val Watson.

A (mostly) complete family photo! Left to right: T123D Darcy, T123 Sidney, and T123A Stanley. Photo by Val Watson.

T123A Stanley. Photo by Val Watson.

T086A1 Nahanni spyhopping, with her mother T086A Eider behind her, and her sister T086A1 Nahanni and T101B Lagoon on either side of her. Photo by Val Watson.

T100B Freya spyhopping with her newest calf T100B3 Selkie ahead of her. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Look at the size of T100B Freya’s face compared to T100B3 Selkie’s body! Adult orca are massive! Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T100B Freya with T100B3 Selkie popping out behind her. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

A perfect eyepatch shot of T100B3 Selkie beside their mother T100B Freya. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Matriarch T101 Reef has little black markings in her eyepatch - it almost looks like someone ‘doodled’ on it! Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Matriarchs T101 Reef and T123 Sidney. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T086A4 Akia, T086A1 Nahanni, T086A1B Denali, and T101 Reef. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T101 Reef, T123C Lucky, T123 Sidney, and T086A4 Akia. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T101B Lagoon, T037A3 Spinnaker, T123D Darcy, T123 Sidney, and T100B Freya. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T123A Stanley, T123D Darcy, and T123 Sidney. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Divot’s dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Divot’s iconic dorsal fin. Photo by Val Watson.

Now THAT is a big yawn! Photo by Val Watson.

Asserting dominance is an important skill for our sea lions. Photo by Val Watson.

What a comfy and cozy nap spot! Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Two big and proud male Steller sea lions enjoying the wonderful weather. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

A Double-crested Cormorant sunning itself on the rocks. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

A Parasitic Jaeger - a very uncommon bird for our area! Photo by Val Watson.

Parasitic Jaegers earned their nickname from documented cases of kleptoparasitism, or purposefully stealing food from other birds/animals. Photo by Val Watson.

A Canada Goose resting on the docks. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Our semi-covered vessel, Kula, on scene. Photo by Aly Kohlman.